''Killing Katie'' is the second

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band Link 80. It was released on CD and 10" vinyl by

Asian Man Records Asian Man Records is a DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established in May 1996. History Asian Man ...

in 1997. It was recorded with Steve Fontano at

Fantasy Studios Fantasy Studios was a music recording studio in Berkeley, California, United States, at the Zaentz Media Center, known for its recording of award-winning albums including Journey (band), Journey's ''Escape (Journey album), Escape'' and Green Day's ...

in Berkeley, California between 18–20 April 1997. The album was the last Link 80 recording to feature lead singer Nick Traina and guitarist

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (born February 19, 1978) is an American director, writer, actor, and musician. He is a founding member of the punk band Link 80 and co-creator of the filmmaking collectives Chad, Matt & Rob and Radio Silence Productions, Rad ...

. It was released less than a month before Nick Traina's suicide.

Track listing

# "Better Than Shit" # "Packing Up" # "No Such Thing" # "Kind Of..." # "The Truth Of It" # "El Stupido (No Quiero Vomitar)" # "Nothing Left" # "

For What It's Worth "For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound)", often referred to as simply "For What It's Worth", is a song written by Stephen Stills. Performed by Buffalo Springfield, it was recorded on December 5, 1966, released as a single on Atco Reco ...

" (originally recorded by

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a Canadian-American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1966 by Canadians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin (musician), Dewey Martin and Americans Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely know ...

) # "Termination (Live at

924 Gilman Street The Alternative Music Foundation located at 924 Gilman Street, almost exclusively referred to as "Gilman", is a non-profit, all-ages, collectively organized music club. It is located in the West Berkeley, Berkeley, California, West Berkeley ar ...

)" # "Blank Mind (Live at 924 Gilman Street)" # "Teenage Fuck Up (Live at 924 Gilman Street)"

Sampled material

* "Better Than Shit" samples the opening line from

N.W.A. N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...

's "

Straight Outta Compton ''Straight Outta Compton'' is the debut studio album by American hip-hop group N.W.A, released on January 25, 1989, through Priority Records, Priority and Ruthless Records. It was Record producer, produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, a ...

". * "El Stupido" samples dialogue from '' American Me''. * "For What It's Worth" uses a quote from

Christopher McDonald Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955) is an American actor. McDonald is best known for playing the villainous professional golfer Shooter McGavin in the 1996 comedy '' Happy Gilmore'', a role he’d later reprise in 2025’s sequel '' H ...

as Shooter McGavin in ''

Happy Gilmore ''Happy Gilmore'' is a 1996 American sports comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, produced by Robert Simonds, and starring Adam Sandler in the title role, with Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen and Carl Weathers. The film follows the namesak ...

''. * The album cover features an altered still image from the 1943 film ''

I Walked with a Zombie ''I Walked with a Zombie'' is a 1943 American horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by Val Lewton for RKO Pictures. It stars James Ellison, Frances Dee, and Tom Conway, and follows a Canadian nurse who travels to care for th ...

''.

Band manifesto

Reacting to turmoil in the Bay Area music scene, the band wrote a call to action that was included in the album's lyric sheet: "We are the new school, its up to us to change the way things are, to make things better. Fuck separatism, we have to unite at all costs. Unconditional acceptance of people into our lives and scenes is the only way. Race, age, sex, religion, what you wear, what music you like, who you fuck...none of it matters. The adult society infested with snobbery and violence should bear no reflection on our underground. Instead of turning our backs to the new kids wanting to learn about our scenes, we should teach them how it should be. Nobody was born cool and nobody is better than the rest. We can do it, all we have to do is try...otherwise the cycle will continue and we too will get caught in it, just like so many of those who came before us. There are too many boundaries, too many walls, too many locked hearts, and too many closed minds. It's up to us to cross the boundaries, to break the walls, to unlock the hearts, and to open the minds."Ink 19 ''Link 80''http://www.ink19.com/issues/august2000/inkSpots/link80.html

Personnel

* Nick Traina –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, vocals (bridge vocals on "Better Than Shit") * Adam Pereira –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, vocals (outro vocals on "Packing Up") *

Aaron Nagel Aaron Nagel is an American painter and the original trumpet player for punk rock/ska core act Link 80, born and raised in Berkeley, California. He later played guitar in the band DESA with other former Link 80 members Ryan Noble, Adam Davis, ...

–

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

* Joey Bustos –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

* Seth Blankenship –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

* Jason Lechner –

* Matthew "Kramer" Croda –

References

{{Authority control 1997 albums Asian Man Records albums Link 80 albums